ZDay
by Darksource
Summary: An act of terrorism leads to radiation fallout, causing a reanimation of the dead. Commandos of the Advanced Technology Organization must help other survivors and escape this nightmare.
1. Awakening

In a house, Mr. Wedge sits on his bed, watching television. His front door bursted open, and he responded by turning the television off. "Hello?" he called out, "Who's there." He grabbed a small knife from his dresser, and slowly peeked around the door, then creeped forward. "Show yourself." Eventually, an unknown person charged and lunged at him. Wedge struggled with the person back into his room, eventually, losing the upperhand as the person overpowered him. He then proceeded to reach for the phone, but the person turned him over, as he proceeded to scream.

Outside, the grave's began to move. Eventually, hands began portruding, and soon, people began rising from them. Not normal ones.

* * *

**2300 Hours**

**New Castle Police Department Headquarters**

**New Castle County, Delaware**

Lance Corporal Ezekiel Luther and Corporal Lance Greenly were chatting with eachother in the recreation area. "I miss going to Chile. Ever since the earthquake, they won't even let us make a single step on it." Ezekiel complained. "Well, we could always fly over it, but the government might shoot us down. Besides, Chile is too cold. Now Bahamas, that lake's a jacuzzi." Lance replied. "Wish people would stop ruining our reputation. Why can't we just pick them off, one by one?" Ezekiel laughed. "With what? Railguns like in Red Faction?" Lieutenant Zhane Gross entered the room.

"Hate to interrupt your little gag, boys, but we need you. We've got some disturbance at a house, and since the cops are on the graveyard shift, you two are up for the job. It's up at Brandywine Creek. We just want you to check it out, then report it back at base." He said. "Sure, speaking of which, we'd better head to the armory." Lance advised, Zhane cleared his throat. "That won't be necessary, you won't be there long. Just take your pistols, and a shotgun just in case." He handed a Beretta 92FS to Ezekiel, and a Glock 17C to Lance, also a Remington 870 Modular Combat Shotgun to Ezekiel, who put it on his back. "Let's take my car." Lance advised. The two commandos head outside, and infront of them was a Sedan, parked. The two get inside of it, and drive off.

On the highway, the sun continued to set, as the skies got darker. "Are we sure about this?" Lance worried. "What?" Ezekiel questioned. "They just want us to check the place out, I mean, shouldn't we be at alert or something?" The farm came into view. "Don't worry," Ezekiel brung up his 92FS, and pulled the slide back. "They call use _Atofs_ for a reason. Anyway, there's our target now." The Sedan pulled up, and the two exited. "This that old timer Wedge's house, isn't it?" Lance questioned.

The house door was open, "Open Sesame." Lance joked. The commandos entered, holding their sidearms. "Place looks normal, don't see what they want us to check out though." Ezekiel said. A noise was heard upstairs. "What was that? Sounded like it came from upstairs." Lance suspected. The commandos proceeded up the stairs, readying themselves for what was to come. Ezekiel raised his weapon upwards, as he slowly approached the open door. He entered first, and found someone slashing Wedge repeatedly. "Hey. Hey you!" Ezekiel called out, the person stopped. "Stop that! Get away from him." He aimed the handgun, as the person slowly stood up. This "person" was no actual person; glowing, shallow white eyes, grey, decaying skin. "What the hell." It charged Ezekiel, as he fired off shots from his Beretta. The first few into their chest, and the last one into the head. The figure slowly dropped to the ground. Lance began taking a closer look, "I-I...can't believe it. It's...it's..."

"A Zombie." Ezekiel finished.

Yes, the two men were standing over and just killed a real live Zombie, as in undead. "Oh shit, it's real. I can't believe it." Lance cried. "We've gotta get out of here." A sound was heard down stairs. "You hear that? More of them." More zombies entered the house, and went upstairs. Three of them emerged, Ezekiel took them out with headshots from his 92FS, Lance assissted. He then used his Remington 870 Modular Combat Shotgun to kill a fourth one, and the two soon exited the house. "Quick, to the-" Ezekiel started, but stopped as he saw the Sedan getting assaulted by two zombies. "My Sedan!" It soon blew up, taking the zombies with it.

After that, a large group of zombies began charging. "Lets take them out. Take this." Ezekiel tossed the Remington 870 to Lance, who in return tossed him his Glock 17C, and he dual-wielded it with his own pistol. The two fired at the oncoming horde, slowing them down as they absorbed their attacks. Ezekiel carefully aimed for their head, taking them out. Some got close to Lance, who drew his KA-BAR Knife to hold them back. They managed to fend this group off. "Incoming!" Lance alerted, as more zombies came from the barn. Ezekiel ran low on ammunition, so he decided to too use his KA-BAR to carefully attack the zombies. A zombie managed to jump on Ezekiel, nearly biting him, but Lance came to his aid, blowing the zombie's head off with his Remington 870.

"Zeke, lets head for the hills." Lance advised. "Fuck that, I'm heading back to base." Ezekiel declined, running back onto the highway. "Point taken, h-hey, wait up!" Lance joined him.


	2. Scavenging

**2315 Hours**

Lance and Ezekiel have been running for fifteen minutes, finally emerging back into New Castle County. "We made it." Ezekiel said, stopping to catch his breath. Along the way, they spotted a stowed-out Police Patrol Car. There was a corpse next to it, presumbly the driver. "Cop Car, 11 o'clock. Let's check it out." They approached the vehicle, and searched it's cabin. "Hey, found some weapons in here." Lance said. The supplies consisted of an M4A1 Carbine, three 5.56x45mm NATO Magazines, and a Glock 22. Ezekiel took the M4A1 Carbine and it's ammunition, while Lance took the Glock 22, replacing his empty Remington 870. "Now we're loaded." Just then, the corpse began twitching. "Get away from him, he's getting up." Lance alerted.

Ezekiel aimed the M4A1 at the now reanimated zombie, and fired a burst at it's head, killing it easily. Further down, a lone survivor was attacked by zombies. "Hey, someone's in trouble down there. Let's help them out." Ezekiel said. The survivor used a 2x4 plank to defend himself, but couldn't kill the zombies. The commandos killed the attacking zombies, saving the survivor. "Hey, you okay?" Lance called out. "Thank you my friends. I thought for sure those putas would eat out my insides." The man said. He was hispanic, wearing khaki pants, and a red, blue and green dot-themed jacket. "I'm Gonzalo. I can't believe I just got saved by two _Atofs_." he introduced. "Yeah, no time for autographs. We've gotta get back to the police station."

The now threesome continue their run back through town, firing at zombies along the way. Eventually, they arrive back at the base. Two Police Officers fired at oncoming zombies with Mossberg 590's, while a Detective fired at them with a SIG Sauer P226. Lance and Ezekiel came to their aid, pushing back the attack. "What's the situation?" Lance came up to ask the Detective, who began briefing. "This all started like ten minutes after you two left. Motherfuckers just keep coming at us. Your boss has already left, don't know where he's going. Best stick with us so we could find a way out of this shit...actually, speaking of which." A small group of zombies attacked. They were quickly put down by the combined efforts of the ATOF operators. Everyone reloaded their weapons, as Gonzalo went out.

"Yeah, take that fucking putas." he taunted. "Hey, get back here!" the Detective shouted. Just then, a mysterious creature appeared: it was orange, short, sported two legs, had a tail coming out of it's head, and it's face was where it's legs were, consisting of a sharp-toothed mouth with glowing cyan eyes. Gonzalo cursed, "What the hell is that thing!" Or more importantly, whose side was the creature on?

He swung at the creature to no effect, as it swiped at him with his tail. "Oh noes, I'm outta here." Gonzalo ran. Guess that question went to the zombies. The creature attacked everyone else, "Everyone shoot at it." Lance called out. The officers and detective fired their weapons at the creature, as it still came at them. Lance added in his one gunfire from his Glock 22, managing to hurt the creature. Ezekiel fired the M4A1 in semi-automatic bursts at it's tail, finishing it off. "Damn, where did they come from?" Ezekiel said. "Don't know, but we best not stick around here for too long. Everyone, mount up!" Lance ordered, as he, Ezekiel, and the two officers entered a Patrol Car; Lance in the passenger seat, Ezekiel in the driver seat, and the two Officers in the backseat. They were followed by the Detective in another patrol car. "Where are we headed?" Lance asked. "To the old farm up through here." Ezekiel provided.

The trio drove through the town's main road. Along the way, zombies shambled about. "Hey, try shooting at some of them." Ezekiel said. Lance leaned out the window and fired shots at a group of zombies, hitting three of them. "Haha, yeah. Nice!" Ezekiel cheered. "My turn." He said, as he lowered the window, and fired a burst of his M4A1 at a zombie, killing it. "Right in the mino, holmes." Gonzalo cheered. The group eventually reached the old farm, where they stop. Zombies were waiting for them, "We'll hold here, then head for the desert in an hour." Lance planned, staying inside the Patrol Car, using it as an advantage against the zombies.

Ezekiel reloaded his M4A1 then switched to full auto mode, and had zombies follow him as he shot them down with ease, while Lance, the officers, and the detective swept them up quickly with the Hellbender's weapon systems. This horde was rather smaller, and easily beaten. After that, another strange creature appeared; this one was humanoid, grey skinned, and looked boney. "Now, what is _that _thing? And who's side is _this_ one on." Lance said. It blew fire out of it's mouth. "Oh hell no." As with the previous creature, the group opened fire on it as it blew out streams of fire, leaving burn marks in the ground. Ezekiel aimed for it's head, weakening it. "Keep shooting!" Lance grabbed a Mossberg 590 from the back seat, "Duck Zeke!" he warned, as he fired a direct shot into the creature's head, killing it.

"That's enough, boys. We need to take a break, then follow our plan." Lance ordered. "Good idea. We should scout out, and try to find survivors." The Officer advised. "Just be back here in an hour."


	3. Three's time to shine

**0020 Hours**

**Advanced Technology Organization Base, Toronto, Canada**

The ever-attractive Doctor Evelyn Foster put on her combat suit, tampered with her golden hair which was in a bun style, then looked in a mirror, revealing her rather beautiful green eyes. She proceeded to pack two H&K MP5A4's, 9mm clips, two M67 Frag Grenades, and Glock 19's in a metal case, alongside a copy of _Ringworld_ into a baggage. She zippered it up, and walked to the "bubble". "Greetings Doctor." a voice said: Director Paul Church. "You too...Director." she returned. "Now, your team members have got themselves caught in a tight situation. Your team's leader isn't responding, so you're being sent in to check on them. Cage, Covington, and Murphy are on standby, so you're just getting dropped in...now. Dismissed."

She boards a V22X Super Osprey, "Overwatch, this is 52 Charlie. Permission to disembark base for transport to Delaware. Over?" the Pilot acknowledged. "Permission granted 52 Charlie." Overwatch allowed. The Osprey began flying towards Delaware. "52 Charlie to Overwatch, we are away."

* * *

Back in Delaware, the Police Officers and Detectives regrouped with Lance and Ezekiel, unfortunately bringing a group of zombies with them. "Fill us in." Lance ordered, "We couldn't find any survivors or supplies, but a whole bunch of those bastards swarmed us and we had to make a run back here." The Detective briefed. "Well, we're a little off plan here, so we'd better get moving. Mount up!" The group ignored the zombies, and entered their vehicles, driving off quickly and running the zombies over. Ezekiel lead the cars onto the highway, "We should head to Churchman's." Lance advised. Ezekiel followed, crossing the Susquehanna River via a bridge, which was littered with destroyed vehicles.

As the group neared Churchman's road, their cars began stopping. "What the hell?" Their engines were smoking, "Son of a bitch broke down. Both of them." Ezekiel cursed, going over to inspect it. "The town's just a few clicks away, hope it still has some survivors." The survivors decided to continue on foot, and then, up ahead, Ezekiel's blood pressure began rising. "Help!" a female voice cried.

In the distance, Ezekiel caught a burst of features: tall, thin body hidden by a white shirt and blue jeans, long blonde hair, crystal blue eyes, yellow manicured, square-tipped fingernails, and reflective red lips. His eyes became completely focused onto the woman, as she and another man were surrounded by zombies, unarmed. "Survivors, let's help them out." Lance said, but Ezekiel stopped, "Hey man, you okay?" He came over to shake him. "Stay together, man. We're trying to get out of this mess." He followed the others and fought off the zombies, saving the survivors. "Come on, this way." Lance ordered, spotting a hotel in the distance, "This must be Chruchman's. To that hotel. Maybe we could refuge there."

Two more of the orange creatures appeared, "Damn, more of those things." cursed Lance. The survivors used the previous tactic with the first one to defeat them. The real problem with the creatures is that they take alot of hits to go down. Ezekiel, Lance, and Gonzalo took on one, the Officers, Detective, and two survivors took on the other one. Using improvision, the plan was a success, and the group continued to the hotel. Along the way, they found dead zombies. "Hey, who did this?" Ezekiel said. Suddenly, their COM devices picked up a signal. "Hello? 01? 02? This is 03. Do you read me?" A voice cut through: Evelyn. "Shit, that's not who I think it is, is it?" Lance said, worried. "Doc! You're here." Ezekiel excitingly yelled. "I'm in the hotel you're heading to, right outside. Come on in." Evelyn proclaimed. Lance and Ezekiel bumped their fists, and headed towards the hotel.

When they got there, Evelyn waved her hands shouting, "Come on! Move it!". Everyone entered, except for the Detective and Officers, who stood guard.


	4. The Plan

**0110 Hours**

1 o'clock in the morning. To the survivors, it felt more like 9 o'clock at night. Ezekiel took a moment to rest, and tried to wonder how all of this happened; zombie apocalypse. It's 2016, and while the ATO was more of a technology organization, they didn't expect an outbreak of the undead to occur. More or less, he had to find out where the mysterious creatures aiding the zombies came from, or how they got here.

The survivors gathered in the hotel's reception room, chatting. Evelyn was reading a magazine while drinking coffee, Lance was eating everything he could find, and Ezekiel was just minding his own business. "Doc." he came up to Evelyn. "Yes Zeke?" she responded. "I've got something to tell you. You remember that professor I used to talk to you about after missions, he works at an old satellite facility miles from here. I think he's still alive, I want to go check it out. Permission?" Evelyn turned towards him. "Granted...but, you'll need some help."

"Lance. Lance, he'll come along too. We're leaving at five." Evelyn said, as they both took a look at Lance, continuing his eating barrage. "...anyways, you two look like you're low on ammo," she reached down to her bag, unzippered, and pulled out two H&K MP5A4's. "Take these. Nine millimeter. Weak, but could tear a zombie up if you hit their heads." she explained, opening the bags and showing him the weapons and four strapped clips, alongside Glock 19's and M67 Frag Grenades. "That's it for me. I'm gonna get some rest now." Evelyn got up, "Lance." Lance stopped eating. "Could you come with me real quick?" she asked, as he raised an eyebrow. "I need to check some unchecked spots." she raised a Glock 19. "Sure." he said, following her as they both entered an elevator.

Ezekiel soon went over to the counter, grabbed a cup, then proceeded to fill it with hot water. He then returned his attention to the woman he and Lance previously saved, who was laying on the couch asleep. He was so distracted that the hot water overflowed and burned his hand, but it was enough for the hot chocolate he was going to use to mix with it. He then picked up the weapons bag and took it into an elevator.

Evelyn and Lance entered a hotel room. Evelyn immediately turned the light on, and went to the windows. She saw wet drops, indicating an oncoming storm. After that, she juggled through the closets to search any unmissed spots. Ezekiel then soon went upstairs, to his and Lance' own room. "Doc, you sure their aren't any zombies in here?" he called out. "No." Evelyn returned. Ezekiel sat the bag down, took out his weapons, then customized his MP5A4 with an RX01 Reflex Sight and Tactical Light, and his Glock 19 with a Laser Sight.

"Okay Lance. You and Zeke better get some sleep, you'll need it." she pulled the covers over her legs. Lance left her room, and went to Ezekiel's. "Had enough?" he asked. Lance rushed into the bathroom, putting soap on his hands and washing them, "Yeah, but my fingers are sore as hell right now." Ezekiel took a sip from his hot chocolate, as Lance went over to dry his hands on a towel.

"So what's this "plan" you want to pull off I heard the Doc say?" Lance asked. "You remember Max, that professor I used to stop by to see on break times. I've known him for a while. He may be able to find out why the dead walk, and what those creatures are. She said you should come along aswell. You in?" Lance paused, "Sure." They shook hands, and proceeded on with their own business.


	5. The Truth

**0500 Hours**

Ezekiel awoke, got up, and shook Lance, waking him up aswell. "It's time." he mumbled, raising his MP5A4. Lance did the same. The two quickly suited up, and took the elevators down. Evelyn, already suited up herself, was waiting right at the door for them, "Before you guys go, take these aswell."

She reached into her compartment, and pulled out two Orion Flareguns, and handing one to both of them, "No thanks, I'm not that type." Lance said, rejecting the Flaregun, leading to Evelyn handing it to Ezekiel instead. The duo exited, "Stay safe boys." she advised. "You too...mom." Evelyn rolled her eyes at Lance, obviously not amused at his statement.

Outside, there was light rain. They stood under the roof, "Are you sure about this?" Lance asked. "SETI 1196 Relay Station. I used to stop by it after missions, I'm positive he's alive. That facility he's in has a lockdown system, so I'm sure he held out." Ezekiel explained. "Well, let's give it a shot."

There were two SUV's, and a Chevrolet Camaro. The two entered the Camaro, exited onto I-95, and headed North. "Damn. They hid this place way out 95?" Lance questioned. "Yeah, they thought a field would leave it in the open for enemy forces, so they hid it in a forest." Ezekiel explained. The Camaro entered the darkened, forested area. There was no one in sight, just the lone vehicle trekking over the lushy, wet hills.

"Damn, where is this guy at? This rain is getting heavier." Lance complained, "We should be coming up on the station now." As the Camaro drove over two more hills, it came across the SETI 1196 Relay Station. It was still intact, though there were no vehicles.

The two commandos exited the car and inspected the area. Out of the wet mist, zombies charged. "Incoming!" The two immediately equipped their MP5A4's and fired on the oncoming zombies. The 9mm bullets did low damage, but they aimed for their heads, each taking several bullets to take down. Ezekiel then took out one of the M67 Frag Grenades, pulled the pin, and threw it at the zombies. As they charged, the grenade detonated, sending pieces flying everywhere. "Why'd she give these to us? She should have gotten us SCAR's." Lance said.

Though they fought off as many zombies as they could, there were eventually too many. "Let's get inside." Ezekiel advised. The two continued to fire their weapons, but stopped as soon as the station doors opened, closing the doors behind them. Inside the station, the observation room was covered with blood stains and pools, no bodies were insight though. "It's a massacre." Lance whispered. "Max!" Ezekiel called out once, "Max?" he called out again. They walked into the satellite room, where there was one lone body laying against a wall, still breathing. "There he is. Watch the door." Ezekiel said, he walked over to Max, and got down on his knee. "Professor," he said, shaking him, "It's me: Ezekiel Luther. What the hell happened?" Max coughed, then began to speak.

_"Ezekiel...you have to get out of here. The apocalypse...is spreading." _He said slowly. "Max, can you tell us why the zombie outbreak is occurring, and who did it, most of all, what did it?"

"And most of all, what the hell are these creatures doing here?" Lance added in.

_"It was two weeks ago, after I heard that the ATOF cleared Nebraska of the terrorist threat. Me and my wife were outside, taking a view out at the sky. Chita directed a beam towards the sky." _This surprised the both of them, as Lance ran over quickly. "Beam! I knew it." he proclaimed. "No Lance, it's his wife." Ezekiel defended.

_"Out of nowhere, strange creatures charged us: the ferocious orange Saryl, boney grey Gruel, invincible Diablo, lizard-like Evol, blob-like Stalker, and the winged Bale. I identified them as the "Malevolent". Nearby security forces came to our aid, but were slaughtered by these new enemies. We evacuated quickly, but...only me and my wife managed to escape the ensuing chaos. Thirteen days later, it was a night that me and my wife were preparing to make a baby. When I was getting ready, she screamed. I rushed upstairs, and there she was, being bitten by a victim of the virus. I grabbed a pair of scissors from the drawer, and killed the mindless being, by attacking it's brain. I quickly rushed over to her, holding her as she died in my arms, silently. I had no time to mourn, I had to do something before she reanimated. So I opened the window, lifted her up, and dropped her out. She impacted the ground really hard, destroying her head._

_"I never believed this would happen. We thought we were safe. We were wrong. I fled here quickly, but along the way, the creatures injured me, but I managed to lock them out. I layed against this wall, feeling the infection spread throughout my body. If you are wounded by the creatures, you will transform into one of them. In such case, I will transform into a towering Nemesis in the next few moments. Tell the government...I'm sorry that...I didn't alert them...any...sooner."_

Max collapsed, dead. Ezekiel froze, "Come on...let's get out of here." Lance pulled him away. Just as the two were leaving, his body began twitching. A shadow rose over the two, as they turned around, slowly. It was Max alright, but he had turned into a Nemesis. It was 7 feet and 3 inches tall. "Sorry professor, but I have to do this for the sake of my own survival."

Ezekiel and Lance fired at the Nemesis, as it chased them around. Mag after mag, headshot after headshot, the creature was only barely weakened. Ezekiel therefore took out the Orion Flare Gun, aimed it, and fired a flare. The Nemesis was quickly engulfed in flames. Ezekiel calmed down, but the Nemesis was still standing. "Fuck!" he cursed. The two rushed out and closed the door, locking it in.

Outside, a lone Saryl, as the orange creatures were now known as, attacked. The Commandos fired at it's tail at the same time, stunning and killing it. The two soon entered their Camaro and left the area. "I should've known. The Terror were behind this, I knew it!" Lance fussed. "We've gotta get back to the hotel, it's getting worse out here." Ezekiel said, driving back onto the highway.

Just then, their radio chatters began picking up. "01, 02-you read me-something's-" It was Evelyn's voice, sounding like she was in danger. "Hurry!" Ezekiel picked up the Camaro's speed. As they emerged back into Newark, they saw the two Officers and the Detective guarding the hotel dead, the other vehicles gone, and the area in flames. "Damn, they were attacked, and they left without us." Lance cursed. "Shit, shit, shit!" Ezekiel paused for a moment, "We'd best head to Wilmington, maybe that's where they went."

Lance and Ezekiel drove down 95 North. At an interchange, signs appeared, labeled - **Wilmington: 22 miles North. Baltimore: 60 Miles South. **They took the North exit to Downtown, across a bridge, which was barely stable. "Lets try and find an armory when we get there. I can't stand these things anymore." Lance said, tossing his MP5A4 out of the window. "That's a waste of a gun, and ammo. We could've given that to someone." Ezekiel proclaimed, "Nah, "someone" isn't even out here." Many destroyed or abandoned vehicles flooded the highway, but the commandos decided to drive off-road to get around them.

After driving for a while, they came across the battle torn Wilmington. Buildings were smoking and burning, destroyed vehicles filled the areas, and zombies shambled about, alongside some of the Malevolent. Unluckily, the roads were blocked by roadblocks, unoccupied though. "Oh that's nice, set your shit up and leave it there." Lance sarcastically proclaimed. "We've gotta get around it somehow." Ezekiel spotted a lesser gate, and drove towards it, running it down. He drove out onto another open road, away from the roadblocks. It was here that two unknown objects appeared on the ground, the two couldn't get a good visual on them. But suddenly, piercing red lights blinded them, followed by a devastating explosion, which incapacited them and knocked them both out of the Camaro, setting it's engine on fire.

A figure appeared. It wasn't a zombie or a Malevolent, but a survivor. This person dragged their unconscious bodies into safety.


	6. Out of Cold Spaces

**0900 Hours**

Ezekiel and Lance awoke into a dazing sunlight. They were laying on mats, infront of a two-story house, and were still in their suits. Ezekiel held his head and shook it. "Ow, what happened?" He said. "Hey guys." Evelyn came up behind them, "Hey, what's the deal?" Lance remarked. "You're in a Safe Zone just outside of Wilmington. Your car blew up from two Claymores. Looks like the operators forgot to set them correctly."

Lance looked around, seeing the same survivors who were with them before, minus Gonzalo that is. "Hey, where is Gonzalo?" He asked. Evelyn turned to him, gasping, and putting her hands on her hips, as sunlight reflected from her acrylic pink fingernails. "I sent him into Downtown, to scout for supplies for the Safe Zone's guards, so if the zombies attack, they'll-" Lance cut her off.

"Wait, wait, wait. You sent him in? Alone?"

"Yes, something wrong with that?"

"Hell yes! You should go in yourself next time instead of sending in a low-skilled combatant."

"You'd better watch that tone, Greenly, before I have you demoted."

"And you'd better learn my motto: don't leave anyone behind. Women these days."

"That's it! As soon as we get out of this, I'm reporting you."

"You won't do shit, because you'll forget. I'm going by my motto, whether you like it or not damnit." Evelyn balled up her right fist.

"Shut up!"

"Or what."

Evelyn raised her fist, "I wish you would."

Ezekiel came over to pull them away from eachother. "Hey, hey! That's enough! Listen, Lance and I should go and search for him tonight. I'm sure he's still alive."

"Fine then." Lance calmed down, "But, if he IS dead...I'm going myself." He walked to the house's front door, "And by the way, those MP5's sucked!" he proceeded, slamming the door behind him. "What is his deal?" Evelyn asked. "He cares for people's survival. You break his motto, he looses his cool."

"Sorry then. So, what did you get from the professor you talked about?" Evelyn asked, "He's said it was these creatures, these...Malevolent. They're the ones who spread the virus." Ezekiel explained. "That's not good. Definately. Good news is, there's an armory around here, you might want to load up. Bad news is, we need to find the boss...wherever he is."

"Man, I want to go back to Canada now. It's dangerous here." Ezekiel walked in the house, as Evelyn went off to her own business.

Inside, the female survivor he had his attention to was resting by a window. He walked over to her, "Hi." She looked at him, "Hello." she greeted, smiling. Ezekiel was stunned by her remarkably beautiful appearance. "Damn." He whispered. "I would like to talk with you, over here." He lead her over to the house's kitchen table. "So, how is it being in the ATO?" The woman asked, "It's pain, but got even better when we started using weapons. So, you've got a name?"

"Mary...Eliza." She pronounced. "Ezekiel Luther." They shook hands slowly, Ezekiel feeling his palm touching her cold palm. "I'd like to tell you that even though we're in a zombie apocalypse," Mary listened in, "You look nice."

"T-Thank you." She said. "Now if you excuse me, I've gotta check on my friend." Ezekiel got up and walked away, with Mary smiling at him. "Lance? Lance!" He entered a bedroom where Lance was sitting on the bed, with his face buried in his hands. "Listen, I know the Doc broke your motto, but you can't fight her. She _is_ the team's second-in-command after all. What do you say we forget about it and go visit that armory she's talking about."

Lance proceeded to then lay on the bed, moaning afterwards. "I'll take that as a yes."

* * *

Ten hours later, the Safe Zone was littered with survivors walking around, doing there own business. Ezekiel and Lance began walking over to the armory, walking past survivors being escorted by the Safe Zone's guards. "Great work boys." Lance commented, as they neared the armory. "I take back what I said about guns. The zombies won't stand a chance."

As soon as they entered, the shop was filled with various weapons. Ezekiel picked out an M1911 .45, a Binelli M1014, an M4 Carbine, and two C4. While Lance picked out a Desert Eagle Mark XIX, a Franchi SPAS-12, an AK47, and an RPG-7. "Say, where's the AT4? Oh that's right." Lance said, noticing the absence of special grenades. "They don't sell those expensive launchers in these armories either." Ezekiel provided.

Ezekiel walked over to the counter, hearing shuffling noises. Evelyn came up infront of him, "Hey Zeke!" She greeted. "Uh, Doc? What are you doing?" He asked. She held an H&K PSG-1 in her left hand, and an M249 SAW in her right. "Just what I like." She proclaimed. Lance came over, "Zeke, you see a liquor store around here?" he asked. "Isn't it a little too dangerous to be drinking in a zombie apocalypse?" Evelyn said. "Was I talking to you? No." Ezekiel rolled his eyes. "Not again." he mumbled. "Well I am now." She jumped over the counter. "Now I'm not. Plus, you can forgot about that book." Evelyn walked out.

"God, can't you get over it?" Ezekiel said. "You need to put her in check."

"You need to mind your own fuckin' business." Lance rejected. "I'll go talk to her." Ezekiel followed Evelyn out, and caught up to her. "Doc, I've gotta tell you something." She stopped walking. "You know he counts on his motto. It's okay, he's over it. What do you say you two go and chat with eachother and pretend all of this never existed." Evelyn smiled, agreeing.

Lance soon walked out, and jogged back to the house. As soon as he got there, Evelyn greeted him. "Save it." He said. She raised her arms and hugged him tightly. "Let's rest. Shall we?" They walked in the house. "Forget about what I said about the dollar, and I got you your favorite book." She took out the Ringworld book. "My Ringworld! You brought it! Yes!" He became excited, sat down and began reading it. "Let me read too." Evelyn joked, Lance covered it from her playfully. "Nah." He said. She then playfully tickles him. "Stop Doc!" They calmed.

Ezekiel came in. "In the next few minutes, Lance and I should be going." He planned, "Shouldn't I say that? After all, I am a rank higher." Ezekiel gasped. "It's survival, ranks don't matter." Lance agreed, gave the book to Evelyn, and got up. "Okay, I'm coming with you." Evelyn joined them, as they walked out the door.

They walked around to search for a vehicle, then came up to ask one of the zone's guards. "Hey, you guys got any transport? We need it for a recovery mission." Ezekiel asked. "Not much, but only one though. Over at that garage." The guard pointed to a garage, which had no door, and contained an unarmed M1114 HMMWV, better known as a "Humvee". "Sweet!" Lance said. They rushed over and got into the Humvee, driving to the gates blocking the roads. The guard on Ezekiel's side came up to greet them, "We're on a mission. We're trying to find a survivor and then bring him back here." The guard signaled the other one, "Let them through." They opened the gates as they drove off.

"This thing's got armor. That way, the zombies wont fuck up this one like they did the last one. Hope we get to find Zhane too." Lance said, "To top it off, we're locked," he chambered his Desert Eagle. "And loaded."

It was a twenty minute drive to the city, the road was empty, not a single figure in sight. When driving through the tunnel, the Humvee ran over something, bumping it. "What the hell was that?" Evelyn cursed, "Felt like one of those creatures. Let's keep going."

As they entered the city, they exited the Humvee, "I'll watch the car." Evelyn informed, putting it in stealth mode in the process so the zombies wouldn't destroy it. They proceeded to climb over one of the barricades, leading onto the street into the city. Flashes were seen in the distance, "That must be him." The three rushed to the source, and saw Gonzalo, wearing a black leather jacket, fighting off zombies with a Remington 700. "Gonzalo, over here!" Lance called out, as he and Ezekiel assisted him. "Am I glad to see you guys man. Your boss lady made a bad choice sending me in here alone. No help. Nada!"

"It's okay, she apologized, now come on." The three rushed back to the Humvee, chased by the remaining zombies, and climbed back over the barricades. "Uhh, you came with no vehicle?" Gonzalo questioned, but was quickly superseded by the appearance of flashes from an M249 SAW. "Get in!" Evelyn snapped. They got inside, and drove back to the Safe Zone. "You okay?" Evelyn asked, "Hell no." She just grinned.

As soon as they arrived at the Safe Zone, everything went to hell. The gates were destroyed, the guards were dead, and the houses were burning. "Oh no." Ezekiel cried. As soon as they arrived, they spotted Mary firing a Glock 19 and running alongside the Valet she was with previously and two anonymous survivors. Lance opened the back doors, "Come on!" he shouted. They quickly entered, as the Humvee drove off. "Damn! That's the second time that's happened." Lance cursed.

"Where are we headed to now?"

"Back to the county, pull over as soon as we get there. I should be able to use the GPS that should direct us some place that could help." Evelyn ordered. The survivors drove along the long road once again, and re-emerged into New Castle County. Evelyn took out a small GPS device, and interacted with it. The GPS showed a satellite view of Wilmington, as she placed a marker on the display of New Castle Airport. "We'd best head to the airport, hope there's still a plane left."

The survivors entered New Castle County, and arrived at the airport. Many zombies crowded the runway, beyond them was a lone Boeing 747. Ezekiel drove faster towards the plane, and the shuttle itself awaited them. "Finally." Ezekiel said. The survivors exited the vehicle, and proceeded towards their escape craft, chased by zombies. "Go go go!" The cargo door from underneath it opened, as everyone boarded. "Move it!" Evelyn ordered. As the door closed back up, a zombie managed to grab on, but Lance shot it off with a shot from his Desert Eagle, nearly taking it's head off. By then, the door fully closed, as the group moved up to the seats.


	7. One way ticket to Hell

**1925 Hours**

The plane's engines started, as zombies maoned beneath it. "Alright everyone, take a seat, we're about to take off." Gonzalo said, taking the pilot seat, with the Valet as the co-pilot. The plane began shaking, ready to run down the runway. "Set course for Baltimore, that's where one of our bases are. The virus hasn't spread there fully yet." Evelyn directed.

Lance sat down in one of the seats. Ezekiel cheered, "Yeah, I knew we'd do it!" Evelyn came over to Lance. "What's wrong?" she asked. "I'm just worried, about Zhane, Xander, Max, and Sal. What if they didn't make it?" She sat on his lap. "Relax, and rest. You mind if I do this?" Lance nodded, as Evelyn put her hand on his shoulder and layed on his.

"Let's have a check back here." Two survivors walked towards the cargo area of the shuttle. "Those ATO guys are the best for saving us from those zombies." One said, "Yeah, they sure...what the hell?" They walked into a dark space, and were quickly attacked. "No...no! Ahhh!" one screamed, as they were killed.

This noise was heard by Evelyn, but no one else noticed. Ezekiel walked to Mary, who was staring out of a window. "Hey, when we get out of this, _if _we get out of this, would you like too-" Ezekiel was cut off by Evelyn. "Guys, get up. Something's happening in the back. Check it out." She ordered. Lance and Ezekiel grabbed their shotguns and went down to the cargo bay.

Zombies, they were the problem. "Shit, how'd they get on here." Ezekiel moved in and fired his M1014 at the zombies, aiming directly at their torsos, and using the M1911 on the ones getting close. Lance assisted with his SPAS-12 in semi-automatic mode, using the wide spread to his advantage. Ezekiel held tight as he fired his weapon, the shells impacting the zombies deeply and sending them backwards

The coast was clear, Lance went to check behind the spaces. As he peeked, something startled him, causing him to fire off a shot. It was a small cockroach, quickly scurring away. Bad choice, the shells impacting with explosive devices. Smoke appeared, followed by an explosion, which shook the whole plane, and disabled the lock mechanism on the cargo doors, throwing Lance out of it in the process.

"Lance!" Ezekiel yelled. He landed in a pool of water, on the forest area of Elkridge off of I-95. Standing up, he rounded up his weapons, and looked at the plane going down. "Hope they make it." He said.

The plane destroyed trees in it's path as it crashed down into Elkridge. Ezekiel clambed out, coughing, followed by Evelyn and the other survivors. "Where's Lance?" she asked. "He fell out." Ezekiel provided. "Find a way out of here, I'm gonna go find him." She grabbed her M249 SAW and disappeared into the forest. "Good luck then."

"Damn. We just lost our way out of this hellhole. Grab your weapons everyone, and follow me."

Ezekiel picked up his M4 Carbine, gave his M1014 to Mary, thus giving the Valet her Glock 19. They advanced up through a small dirt road, and spotted distant zombies. "Lock and load." Ezekiel took the first shots at zombies coming, Mary assisting, though losing control over the recoil of the shotgun. Gonzalo stayed back and fired careful shots at them. Ezekiel reloaded his M4, and continued mowing down incoming zombies. One had charged Mary, but she shot it down quickly, smiling and squealing in joy afterwards.

Another Nemesis appeared, alongside a Saryl. Ezekiel first tossed his last M67 Frag Grenade to weaken them, then proceeded to finish off the Saryl with fully automatic fire. All three of them fired on the Nemesis, stumbling it. Ezekiel jumped over and stabbed it in the head with his KA-BAR Knife to finish it off. "We've gotta find the others...wherever they went."

In a different part of the canyon, Lance fired his AK47 at the pursuing zombies while aiming down the sights. He killed four of them with well placed shots, dropped it, and used his SPAS-12, extending the stock and firing in pump action mode.

Evelyn appeared, "Get back!" She proned, aiming through the scope of her H&K PSG-1, and started firing at the zombies who directed their attention towards her, mowing them down. A single Saryl converged on her, as she took out her M249 SAW, kicked it down, and aimed it into the creature's mouth. The Saryl began roaring, "Oh shut up." Evelyn finished it off by unloading several rounds into it.

She checked on Lance, "You okay?" she asked. "Yeah. If that pond wasn't right there I'd have been dead." He said. "Come on, Ezekiel and the others survived the crashed and went this way."

Ezekiel and the survivors arrived at the river, chased by zombies. He forgot about his C4, as they neared a wooden bridge, Ezekiel took one out, "Go, I'll stop them." Mary, Gonzalo, and the Valet rushed across, as Ezekiel planted the C4, and followed them. He quickly jumped and rolled. Lance and Evelyn arrived, "Wait!" Evelyn shouted. Ezekiel responed, and waited until she and Lance crossed. "You're alive!" he shouted.

Zombies and creatures began crossing, and Ezekiel detonated the explosive devices, sending them flying in a bloody mist.


	8. Trebeled Slaugher

**2000 Hours**

The survivors made their way out of the forest, and found themselves on I-95. "There, I see a store over there." Evelyn pointed out. They made their way to a nearby store off of an exit. Lance took point, kicking the door open and inspecting with his AK47. "See anything?" Evelyn asked. "Negative." he responded. Mary searched over by some knocked down boxes, and noticed someone underneath breathing.

"Hey, I found a live one over here." She held the figure by the arm; Zhane Gross, the leader of the team. "Boss!" Ezekiel let out. "What happened?" Zhane wiped dust off of his shoulder. "Big creature...zombies. Destroyed my transport...my escort. We couldn't kill it. I crawled here for shelter, boy am I glad to see you guys." He stood on his feet, grabbing his SIG Sauer P226. "You guys got a bigger gun?" Lance handed him his SPAS-12, Zhane thanking him by nodding. "Come on, behind this building is a bus we could use. It still may be functio-..."

The survivors exited the store, and spotted a bus that was parked. "...-ning". And to make matters worse, zombies were bashing on it. Lesson One in a zombie apocalypse, never leave a vehicle outside in the open - "Ah, not again." Lance expressed. Just then, the vehicle exploded, taking the zombies with it - or that will happen. "BWI is not far from here, let's move!" Zhane ordered. The team decided to continue onto the I-95/I-195 interchange, and were intercepted by Malevolents. "Take them down!"

The survivors progressed down the highway, firing at the undead forces from all sides. In the distance, their goal to escape awaited them. The Baltimore-Washington International Airport was darkened, on the field, two Boeing 737's were docked. "I'm running low man." Lance alerted, reloading and continuing to fire his AK47, gunning down approaching zombies. Ezekiel took well-placed headshots at the zombies, and since Zhane wasn't used to fighting zombies, he fired shots at their chest, slowing them down for the others to hit them. In the ensuing onslaught, there were too many zombies incoming, the group had to continue while being pursued.

After miles of running, the survivors eventually reached the airport, though exhausted from all the running.

"Finally, made it." Ezekiel expressed. They entered through the drop-off entrance, and came to view the besieged airport. Floor tiles were broken, various military equipment was set up, from body bags to tents, and a hell of a lot of blood. "Airport - not a good place to set up quarantine." Evelyn remarked. The place seemed empty at first, "No one's here. Should I fire a warning shot?" Lance asked. Zhane nodded, Lance however didn't listen, and fired a shot anyway. The shot echoed, as many footsteps were heard, eventually, Malevolents began charging the survivors, primarily Saryl's. After all they've been through, they knew how to take them on now.

The survivors fight through the abandoned airport, infested with the vicious creatures. Mary got used to the M1014, and forcefully knocked back a Stig. Fire with fire? More like fire with shells. The Valet's Glock 19 didn't do much, but it was still effective against a charging Saryl. Lance used his AK47 to assist him and take down the Saryl, then, the weapon eventually ran empty, and he discarded it, pulling out his Desert Eagle, where said gun's tremendous .50 AE round killed most of the Malevolents quickly. A Nemesis joined the firefight. Evelyn weakened the Nemesis with her M249 SAW, which proved to be a very effective countermeasure for the survivors. Zhane's SPAS-12 was doing pretty good just as much as Mary's M1014, Gonzalo proved to be an excellent marksman with his Remington 700, even at close to medium range, and Ezekiel was still hanging in there with his M4 Carbine. All together, the group managed to take down the towering creature.

There were particularly more Malevolents than usual, and no zombies in sight. Things were getting fishy, many of them appeared to be patrolling in certain places, as if they were guarding something important...or someone. "Jesus, is this where they're all coming from?" Ezekiel commented. They eventually winded up back outside at the front entrance. "We've got to get to that plane. How are we gonna get there? Plans team?" Zhane said. As they conversed, a strange figure rushed up through the parking lot. This one was tall, sported a large grey jacket, black leather boots, sharp finger with black gloves and had grey skin. "Wait, you hear that?" Mary said. The figure approached the group, as they turned around, and Ezekiel identified it as a Diablo. "This one's called the Diablo, apparently."

"T-that's the creature that ambushed me!" Zhane said. Unbeknownst to them, the group opened fire on the Diablo to no effect. It charged the Valet, slashing and killing him instantly. It proceeded to attack Gonzalo, swinging and sending him flying into some bushes, incapacitating him in the process. "Guys, stop shooting! It's bulletproof!" Zhane warned, but they didn't respond. "Cease fire!" Unluckily, the Diablo then attacked Zhane, impaling him with it's claws, and partially slashed Ezekiel aswell. Lance eventually moved into a far position, and equipped his RPG-7, which he curiously hasn't used yet. "Get away, I'm gonna blast that son of a bitch." he said.

The others moved away, while Lance aimed down the sights, and fired off an 85mm Rocket Propelled Grenade. The projectile impacted, knocking the creature on it's back. He quickly inserted another round, and fired it, this one killing the creature. "That's how you kill those things." Ezekiel said. They went over to Zhane, and brung him up against the Watchpost. "Get...out of...here. I'm...not gonna...m-make it." Zhane said, holding his P226 to his head. "And Lance, fuck the motto, just go on." The survivors proceeded to the closest Boeing 737, and quickly boarded.

Just then, a sound was heard.

The sound was loud and distant.

It wasn't something breaking.

It was what was intended to happen.

It was a gunshot.


	9. To The Death

**2025 Hours**

_Day 14 after the virus' spread: the survivors have been fighting to survive for over twenty-four hours, using various improvisions in their haste. The virus spread along the East Coast of the United States, starting in Delaware. What began as a simple accident, became a major disaster._

After the encounter with the seemingly undefeatable Diablo, the now four remaining survivors boarded the Boeing 737. "Check the whole plane this time, we dont want what happened on the last one to happen again." Evelyn ordered. Lance proceeded to inspect backwards towards the plane, aiming his Desert Eagle to check for any suspicion.

The bathroom door bursted open, and an undead flight attendant came out, the first zombie they had come across ever since they entered the airport. Lance quickly put it to rest with a shot to the head, he then proceeded into the back section of the plane, closely coming up to the curtain. He slowly opened it, then quickly aimed - nothing insight.

Ezekiel sat down, and felt a cut on his arm. He then looked to reveal it was a slash. The Diablo suceeded in slashing him aswell. What was he going to tell the others? "Can you fly?" Evelyn asked Mary. "Y-yes. I used to do commercial flights." she replied. "Lance, she needs a pilot. Mind taking it?" Lance went to the cockpit and joined Mary, afterwards, he entered a bad mood, and Evelyn came to comfort him. "What's the matter?" she asked. "Can't believe this. Damn...Malevolents. That fuckin' Diablo. Lost half of us. Hell, we lost the boss, lost Gonzalo, and that other guy."

"Don't worry, atleast you made it out. You did a good job too." she said softly. The plane's engines started, and Evelyn took a seat herself, as the plane then took off. "Head to Gunpowder Beach so we could refuel." Evelyn directed. The skies were darkening, and the sun was setting. Evelyn then got up to check on Ezekiel, noticing he was grapping his arm tightly. "I didn't want to tell you guys until now. When the Diablo slashed the boss, a part of it hit me in the process. It wasn't big, that's why I haven't turned yet." he explained.

Evelyn pulled out her scanner, and scanned the wound. "I estimate an approximate thirty hours left before you turn." she confirmed droubtfully. "What's happening?" Lance called out from the cockpit, "Nothing, just keep flying to the beach." she said. He set course towards the East, then put the plane on auto-pilot. He came to check on Ezekiel aswell, "He got hit. Listen, I want you to land at Gunpowder, and then head to the Tarasque. Got it?" Lance nodded, and went back to the cockpit, disengaging auto-pilot. Flying over Downtown Baltimore, Ezekiel took a look at the city, which was intact; the infection on the outside didn't reach the city areas yet.

Ten minutes later, the plane flew over North Baltimore, and decreased altitude as Gunpowder Beach came into view. The plane descended, then landed on an open parking lot. "Here we are." Lance confirmed. The four exited the plane, weapons in hand. "You know the deal: find some fuel and maybe some survivors, if there are some." Evelyn planned. "You guys go without me, I'll just watch the plane." Ezekiel said, sitting on the floor of the hatch, holding his M4 Carbine. The others went towards the building that overviewed the beach, first checking inside there for survivors.

The place seemed clear, perhaps the virus hasn't spread to this area yet.

Evelyn and Mary searched one side, while Lance searched the other side. Evelyn and Mary found nothing, Lance on the other hand, "Shhh. Hear that?" a voice whispered. "Here comes one. When it comes around, you blow it's head to bits." another voice replied. Lance brushed up against the wall, and then peeked around the corner, seeing nothing at first. He darted out, aiming his Desert Eagle, as shotgun pellets rushed past him, impacting the wall behind him. "Woah, woah." Lance came out, and infront of him was a park ranger armed with an Ithaca 37, and eight more people behind him. "Heh, thought you were one of them limpin' bitches." The rather trigger happy ranger stated.

"We're from the ATO, we're looking for survivors and we have a plane with us. Come on, we'll get you out of here." Lance commanded. He exited, and they followed. "Doc, found some people." Lance called out, as Evelyn and Mary exited the left side of the building. "Good, now let's get the fuel." Evelyn ordered. The survivors continued up to the gas station. The beach put a gas station out here incase someone's car broke down, strangely enough, there was also fuel for aircraft. Lance took one jug, and filled it with fuel. He sat it down, and took another one, repeating the same process. "That's enough. Let's go." Evelyn ordered.

The survivors hurried back towards the plane, "Why I gotta carry these, cuz I'm black?" Lance complained. "You know, it would be nice if y'all would help me here." They ignored, and simply continued. As soon as they reached the plane, Ezekiel reached down and stood up, as the survivors boarded the plane, except for Ezekiel. "Come on, Zeke." Lance said.

Ezekiel stood there, as Evelyn and Mary came out. Lance emptied both fuel canisters into the plane's tank. "I made my decision. I'm gonna stay here." he says weakly. "We could get you amputated man." Lance tried to explain, "No, I wanna die with all my limbs intact." They agreed with his decision. Lance shook hands with him, "Good to shoot with you." Evelyn then hugged him, "We'll remember you." Mary stepped up to him, "Without you, we wouldn't be here now." she proceeded to kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you." She patted his face softly as they boarded. The plane's engines restarted, and then took off.

Ezekiel looked into the sky, and smiled. "Farewell guys. Take care now." After Ezekiel said those words, zombies eventually appeared and charged Ezekiel. "Time to kill me some dead heads, before I become one myself."

He raised his M4, and fired.


End file.
